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28 March 2015

There is a small village not far from us called Velke Bilovice, that has around 650 wine cellars ranging from small family cellars to commercial enterprises. Each year they have an "open wine cellars" day when many of the cellars, this year 50, open their doors to the public, and you can sample czech wines from the very good to the truly awful. My brother came over from the UK this weekend especially to visit. We managed 21 out of the 50, and I'm pleased to say, we can all walk in a straight line and talk sensibly. Mind you, like everything else in this world, each year the price goes up and the measures get smaller!

25 March 2015

I am so very, very close to finishing those ***** butterflies, I just have the binding to sew down on one side on the seat pad, and the whole of the second quilt.

This is actually one of my favourite parts of quilting, so I'm relatively happy!
I tried to get a bit adventurous when I quilted the little table runner/mat that I made to go with the seat pads. Overall, I'm very happy with it

I have been so focused on finishing the butterflies, that I have neglected my bee duties. This month in the Stitchtease Bee belonged to Susan. The brief for Susan was pretty open - a wonky log cabin style block with a fussy cut centre, and broken lines

And finally, I have joined in with the next round of Ali's ATC swap. The theme this time is Home Sweet Home, and as you probably know, my garden is very a big part of my life, so it had to be the star of my ATC. Progress so far

It just has to be pimped up a bit now

This week I'm joining up with Lee's WIP Wednesday, and then folks, I'm off to try out a new sewing machine, Watch this space!!!!!

22 March 2015

I've probably used that title already for this quilt, but hey ho.... I have a finish, that's the main thing.

Back in October 2013, it was my turn to choose a block in the Sew Euro-bee-an Bee. With the permission of Sarah Fielke, I asked the girls to make me teacups for Sarah's All that and the Hatter quilt from her book, Hand Made with Love. I sent out one medium print fabric for the cup, one smaller print fabric for the saucer, and a couple of solids for the background. The girls then mixed and matched with their own fabrics to make two teacups, and, because they were small, a striped filler piece too.

Here's my first two blocks

The blocks rolled in although unfortunately, I didn't get blocks from all the group, and had to make up the numbers myself. I also made the teapots that go with the pattern.

It took me ages to piece it,

and then I decided that this quilt really needed hand quilting. It's the first major hand quilting project I've tackling, and it really didn't take me as long as I thought it would. I thoroughly enjoyed my winter nights sitting in front of the fire, quilting, although my wrists and thumbs aren't thanking me for it!

I took a few photos on Friday, during the eclipse, around the garden

Thanks to all the Sew Euro-bee-an ladies who contributed. This quilt is going to make me feel so bright and cheerful every time I use it.

16 March 2015

Someone, mentioning no names, had a new camera for her birthday last week, and I've been out and about testing it.

Now I had better get the manual printed of and see how it works!!

Last weekend we a get together of the Valtice Patchworkers. The instructor was asking what I thought we could make, so I suggested she teach them HST's. She chose to teach them and eight pointed star, but I forgot to take any photos. Oh well, you'll have to make do with my effort! I did something different, just to demonstrate that you can make lots of different things with HST's.

I made it from the scraps of September Blue that I had leftover from making a baby quilt a while back, plus a few other bits and bobs I had. The backing and the binding is also left over from the same quilt. And for the first time ever, I'm linking it up with Leanne and Nicky's Scraptastic Tuesday .

11 March 2015

Since we sold the business at the end of last year, the fact I'm retired hasn't really hit home, as we've been tying up loose ends, holidaying, and then catching up from the holiday. But this week, I have started to feel retired. The weather has been beautiful, so I've been able to potter in the garden, without thinking I've got to do everything in one day. The dogs have been walked, and we've had a bonfire. And when you wake up to a throughly miserable wet day like today, there's no question of what I will be doing!

Cutting for my next project

And a little hand sewing whilst watching the first episode of the new Poldark series. The first series was one of my all time favourites, and I read all the books. I wonder if the new one will be as good?

And yes, I know I have sewn the binding on back to front, but as it's only a cushion for me, i'm confident that my hand sewing is good enough! I really wasn't going to rip the binding off and start again!

About Me

Hi folks and thanks for visiting. I live in southern Czech Republic with my husband and several animals. You'll find I flit from quilting to gardening, to animals, to knitting, with a bit thrown in about the area too. I'm not a very good cook, so if I make something good, you'll hear about it! Hope you can find something of interest.